Crochet a rainbow blanket with this easy step-by-step tutorial including tips.
I’ve finished!!
I’ve been loving this crochet rainbow blanket as I’ve worked on it. So much so that I haven’t been able to resist sending out updates every now and again on Instagram and Facebook.
It’s a soft and snuggly rainbow, and very, very easy. All the rows are the same stitches over and over. I thought it was called a double crochet, but a little research tells me it is actually a half double crochet:
- Yarn over
- Insert the hook in the next stitch
- Yarn over and pull through (you should have 3 loops on your hook)
- Yarn over and pull through all three loops
You could also use triple crochet – tutorial here.
Blanket Pattern:
Chain a whole lot for your base row – I started with 152 chains and my blanket is about 107cm or 42″ wide.
Leave the first 2 chain and half double crochet into the third chain.
Continue to half double crochet into every chain.
At the end of the row, chain 2 then turn and half double crochet all the way back! Easy!
My colour scheme:
- 1st colour: 8 rows
- 2nd colour: 2 rows
- 1st colour: 2 rows
- 2nd colour: 8 rows
- 3rd colour: 2 rows
- 2nd colour: 2 rows
- 3rd colour: 8 rows
- 4th colour: 2 rows
- 3rd colour: 2 rows
- 4th colours: 8 rows
- And so on…
A few details:
- Moda Vera Pure Wool 8 ply from Spotlight, about 1.5 balls of each colour
- Finished size: 118cm x 107cm
- Size 4.5 crochet hook
- 152 stitches in my starting chain
- 140 rows
- 12 different colours
- Each row took me about 9 minutes
- That’s 21 hours all up – over a couple of months
What have you been working on lately?
Find another rainbow stripe crochet blanket here.
Learn to Crochet online:
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Love your blanket! Are they the 50g or 100g balls?
Oh, good question, Jodie! I missed that! Mine were 50g balls.
Thanks, now to decide whether to stock up whilst on special…
Well, you convinced me. I’ve started and am on my third colour. I am thinking of going and buying another ball of each colour so I have enough to make another blanket. Think I must crochet a lot tighter than you though as mine is only about 95cm wide.
Yay! Can’t wait to see a picture!
You might crochet tighter than I do, Jodie, it can be so different for different people. A different size hook can make a difference too.
I’ve been working on a Afghan multi colored yarn rippled stitching purple colors…it’s now just started, but curling not happened before hopefully it flattens out….I’ll let you know
I finished a pair of bed socks for DD yesterday. Pictures on my blog post today.
I love your blanket – so bright and colorful, just the way I like them!
The socks are so pretty, Lynne!! Love the colour and the lacy design.
It looks great! Your half double crochet can also be called a half treble depending on what country you come from! I love the final effect of the blanket and the colours. So what’s up next?
It is so confusing that the stitches have different names in different countries, Paige! I’ve given up trying tok remember them now.
I think next I’ll use some of the left over yarn in granny squares from the book you gave me for my birthday…
Beautiful blanket Tonya!
Thanks Jill. I have left it sitting on the dark couch in the spare room and I love how the colours pop.
Wonderful colours. I found this through Thriving on Thursdays. I have linked in a salad with leftover lamb. Have a great week.
Thanks for popping over, Carole… I’m off to find your post…
I love this Tonya!
Thanks for linking up to Totally Pinworthy!
Thanks Amy. I really wanted it to be finished when we had Rainbow Week at And Sew We Craft but it wasn’t to be…
Love this pattern. I may just have to make one come this fall. Too hot now to think about having all that on my lap! 🙂 I’m pinning it now for later use!
Thanks Jill. There must lots of people thinking like you because it has lots of Pinterest pins I see!
I need to learn to crochet so I can make this, I can get one row down and anything after that is a mystery to me. :3
There are heaps of videos on Youtube, Maegan. I found it really useful to see someone actually doing the crochet stitches.
Thanks! I will have to learn so I can make this, and get over my fear of crocheting past the first row.
Hel-lo. I have been crocheting since 1974 and have been helping a young college student with her crochet skills this summer. She has fallen in love with the Rainbow blanket and is armed with coupons and a student discount for Joann’s Craft Store, ready to buy yarn for this project. I surfed around this site for information, but seem to be missing some additional datails. We know we need twelve colors. What we haven’t been able to figure out are the yarn colors, the yarn weight/category, the how much of each color that she’ll need and what size crochet hook did you happen to use? I understand the half-double crochet as: yarn over, pull up a loop, then yarn over and pull through all three loops on the hook. The “middle stitch” between a single crochet and a double crochet. Is this the same technique that you used? Is the yarn weight a catergory 4 yarn or something else? We’re looking at the Vanna Colors by Lion Brand, since there is such a wide color selection, but I’m not finding enough information on the ‘net about the Moda Vera to compare the two yarns, beyond that Moda Vera is wool and Vanna is acrylic. Would greatly appreciate any information that you might care to share. Thanks so much! Michelle
Hi Michelle,
Let me see if I can answer your questions…
Your half-double crochet sounds the same as mine so that is all good.
With a little research, it seems that my 8 ply yarn is the equivalent of your category 3 yarn. (This web page gives a table to compare them: http://www.tricksyknitter.com/pages/posts/yarn-weights-terminology-and-us-vs-uk-standards-312.php)
My balls of yarn are 50g balls, and I’d suggest you get at least 2 balls of each colour.
Although I used wool, you could easily switch it for acrylic and the blanket would work just fine.
I used a 4.5 size hook which I believe is a size 7 in the US system. (Comparison chart here: http://www.karpstyles.com/crochet/hook-chart.html)
Moda Vera yarn doesn’t have colour names so I couldn’t tell you colours, but I suggest she picks a set of colours she LOVES and that look good together. You could add a pink in, or go more pastel shades, or darker shades. Just lay the balls side by side in the store to get an idea of how they will look.
I hope that helps! I’d love to see a picture of the blanket when it is done!
Tonya
Thanks so much for the great information! Even though the conversion chart is correct for a 3 weight yarn, we decided to use 4 weight yarn, for the wider color choices. For other American readers, the crochet hook is also known as a letter “G” hook and the half-double crochet stitch is the same that you described. Looking forward to making this project! Will send photos when done.
Hey quick question what was the length of you blanket? Im gonna try to make your beautiful blanket but I’m going to make it double. You told us the width but only the length was originally 152 chains. Thank you so much!
Hi Megan,
How did I miss that info!? The blanket was 130cm length when I finished it. You might find it is a little different depending on how tight your stitches are, but that gives you an idea.
Have a great day,
Tonya
Thanks!
what was you length of your blanket? You said you started with 152 orignal chains and told us the final width but never the length. Thank you so much!
Superb!!! I have been meaning to make one of these for ages. The colours are gorgeous. Well done : )
Thanks so much! It is still one my all time favourite projects
OK, you gave instructions for row 1 and row 2. Since row 1 skips the first two chains and row 2 doesn’t, I need to know if the rest of the blanket is simply row 2 all the way through or is the pattern a repeat of row 1 and 2 each time? I am presuming it is row 2 from then on to finish, but wanted to double check since stitches are often times skipped when turning for many crocheted projects.
Hi Jenee,
Sorry it wasn’t clear for you. Yes, you are repeating row 2 for the rest of the blanket. There are 2 chain at the end of each row to make it all sit flat but you crochet in to the top of the half double crochet.
I hope that makes more sense, Tonya
You’ve made some beautiful items, but I think this is my favourite!!
Thank you, Mary. You are sweet! This is certainly one of my favourites too.
How do you switch colors at the end of the row so you don’t end up with two colors at the beginning of your rows?
Hi Lauren,
I leave my crochet hook in the last stitch and cut off the yarn leaving a couple inches to spare. Then I tie my new yarn colour on, pulling the knot as close as I can to the crochet hook. The hook stops the last stitch from being pulled out. Then I crochet the couple of chain stitches and turn for the next row.
Does this help?
Tonya
Yes, thank you! I bought all my yarn yesterday and will get started on this soon. 🙂
I love this pattern ,the colors are very beautiful .Thank you for your beautiful pattern 😉
Just beautiful! I LOVE color! I couldn’t pick just one if I had too. What a labor of love this blanket is. Thanks for sharing.
Hi I’ve started this blanket today. does it matter how many chains you start with? You did 152… does it have to be +2? Thanks!
Hi Jackie,
You could start with any width you want to for this blanket and it will still work. Just remember as you go into the first row of half double crochet, skip the first two chain and crochet into the third one. This will ensure you don’t have puckering at the end of the row.
I’d love to see a picture of your blanket when you’re finished!
Tonya
Hi! I know this is an old post but just wanted to say I’ve just started my second blanket with this pattern! My first blanket was my first crochet project and helped me get a grasp on the movements of crochet. Although I didn’t count my first chain stitches and it became a throw blanket instead of a baby blanket because it was so big! It took me a long time and about 20 50g balls. This time round I’ve counted!
Oh, Sharon, thanks so much for letting me know!! I love to think that you’re onto your second blanket! Will your second one be the baby blanket you planned first?
I have just come across your beautiful blankie on pintrest. I knit more than crochet, but you have made the pattern so easy to follow, I am going to make one for my granddaughter. Just signed up and can hardly wait to see more of your lovely creations. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know, Zuzana. I wold love to see your blanket for your granddaughter when you have finished it.
Tonya
Hi there, thanks for this pattern, I’ve just started on my second row.. just one little query I have, did you do your first half double crochet into the same stitch as the chains come out of at the start of the second row or did you go right into the next stitch? I tried both and thought going into the same stitch as the chains looked better but maybe I’m in for an uneven or angled side if I keep doing it? Thanks.
Hi Cora,
Great to hear you’ve started your blanket! You can do it either way as long as you do the same on every row so it looks consistent when you finish. Personally I go into the second stitch because I like the look of the straighter edge on my finished blanket.
Enjoy!
Tonya
Hi Tonya,
Love the rainbow blanket! You’ve inspired me to attempt this as my second blanket. Are you able to outline all the colours you used per row? As You only listed coloyrs for a few rows.. Thanks 🙂
You can use whatever mix of colours you can buy, Sonia. I had 12 colours – you can see them in the photos – and I just arranged them in rainbow order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo (dark blue), violet (purple). When I had a dark and a light orange I put the darker one next to red and the lighter next to yellow. Same with multiple greens and blues. My colours were limited by what I could buy in that yarn at the time.
You said you used about 30 balls of 50 mg of yarn, could I use 15 of 100 then? Also, if I want to expand the pattern so that the blanket is a jumbo size, how would I go about that?
Thank you!! Carolyn
Hi Carolyn,
In theory you could use 15 of 100, yes. Keep in mind though that your yarn usage can also be effected by how tight your stitches are and which size hook you use. Also if you want it to be larger, you will obviously need more yarn.
To make the blanket bigger, just start with a longer chain (which will make it wider), then add as many extra rows as you like at the end to make it longer. You might decide to increase the number of rows of each colour as you go along to increase the size, or you might add some more colours.
For row 3 I did the 2 chains turned but then do I stitch into the 3rd stitch or the 1st?
I love the blanket with the rainbow
Color. I love to learn how to make me
One.
I don’t understand this statement from the rainbow blanket, please clarify
Leave the first 2 chain and half double crochet into the third chain.
Another way to say it would be “double crochet into the third stitch from your hook” or “double crochet into the third stitch from the end of the chain”. I hope that helps.
Tonya
I’ve made this blanket twice already and donated it to my church for the nursery. Our color them is a large number of various colors as it is based on Noah, Noah’s ark. I luv this blanket!! Y
Thanks so much for letting me know, Mae. That’s so great to know that you’ve used my pattern for donations. I hope they are getting lots of use by all your church babies.